Summer 2007

It's been a really busy summer, with many opportunities to see family and friends around the world. We have waaay too many great photos to limit ourselves to the one home page. So, here are some more pix from summer 2007.

Anniversary

Uncharacteristically, we celebrated our wedding anniversary in style this year (no, it wasn't any milestone) with dinner at Canlis, where this cute photo was snapped

Graduation

Our friend Catie Burr received her bachelor's degree in June from UW. It was an honor for L to be barbeque "master" at the party. Our favorite picture of the whole affair was this grandparents/grandchildren shot

Ruth, Carrie, Cameron, Catie (the graduate), and Bill Burr. You can tell by the jackets what June is like in Seattle!

Quick trip to Illinois

Lisle, IL

After landing through serious weather at O'Hare, we spent a delightful post downpour dinner with Alden and Laura Snyder, and their lovely daughters

Anna, Miggie and Nora. Later in the evening the fireflies came out, and we could watch them from the dinner table!

Galesburg, IL

Then we headed south to Galesburg to see Dan and Tomoko. Dan has been teaching at Knox College, site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate on slavery.

Abraham Lincoln, Tomoko, Dan, Stephen Douglas. Given his homework assignments, Dan's students probably don't find it surprising that he lined up on the side of slavery!

Chicago, IL

Dave is active with an urban garden group, Ginko Gardens. They grow organic herbs and vegetables that they donate to a food bank for Chicagoans suffering from AIDS.

Larry and Dave discuss whether it's to-MAY-to or to-MAH-to.

Lin Visit

Calvin, Mary and Emmett Lin were in town, which was our first chance to meet the boy.

Emmett and Haley (Larry Bunn and Judy Watson's golden retriever), share an hors d'oeuvre.

Feran Visit

Jeamy and Peter Feran were in town from New Zealand to see their grandchildren (and their children, of course). This presented the perfect opportunity for Jeamy and Julie to cook together.

They sample the brandade – a delight made from salt cod and garlic – and pronounced it 'tasty'

No- Visit

How can Seattle compete with Paris? It's tough. So, we went with our strengths when friends came to town. We visited the first Starbucks and Kidd Valley Hamburgers.

Perhaps, we made a mistake taking them shopping at Fred Meyer, however, because it soon developed into an obsession! Or do we mean idée fixe?

Visit to Ogawas

We had a delicious dinner at Tomoko's parents' (Makiko and Akio Ogawa) home in Tokyo. Theirs is a traditional Japanese house – very neat! – in a quiet residential neighborhood of Tokyo.

It was sushi and "all the fixin's"!

Meeting Kamimuras

Our friends Junko and Shinya Kamimura came to the wedding party in Tokyo. Kamimuras have always been our premier "tour guides" in Japan. They were eager to show us around again.

We spent the rest of the weekend sightseeing and shopping with them (but not in these clothes!) before all leaving town on the Shinkansen.

Meeting Imuras

Our friends Kazuyo and Wataru Imura (Junko Kamimura's parents) came from Nara to Kyoto and hosted us at dinner.

They keep busy with their crafts. Wataru showed a copy of his latest woodcut print – he's an expert! – which we liked very much. Do you recognize Wataru's tee-shirt? Have you seen it elsewhere on this page?

Visiting Kawamotos

Just three months after seeing Tomoko and Takashi Kawamoto in Seattle, we had the pleasure of visiting them in Kyoto.

Takashi told the story of how in ancient times (Kyoto was capital of Japan for 1000 years) runners would bring fresh-caught, salted mackerel over the mountains at night – a distance of 90 kilometers – so the emperor could have sushi for breakfast the next morning. He served us the same fresh mackerel. Being emperor must have been pretty good!

Takashi's spectacular garden was at its summer best!

See more of Takashi's garden at his garden Web site, especially the Rainy and Night-time pages! And, photos of their visit to Seattle are in our last issue.

Meeting Asanos